KR101579662B1 - Electronic device and method of displaying information in response to a gesture - Google Patents

Abstract

The method of the present invention includes displaying information associated with a first application on a touch sensitive display of an electronic device. A gesture indicating a request to display information associated with the second application is detected in the touch sensitive display. At least a portion of the information associated with the second application is displayed without opening the second application.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device and a display method for displaying information in response to a gesture,

The present invention relates to an electronic device including a portable electronic device with a touch sensitive display as a non-limiting example and its control.

Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have a wide range of uses and can provide a variety of functions including, for example, telephone functions, electronic messaging functions, and other Personal Information Manager (PIM) applications. Portable electronic devices include several types of mobile stations, such as, for example, simple cellular telephones, smart phones, wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth capabilities.

Portable electronic devices, such as PDAs or smart phones, are generally intended for handheld use and portability. Smaller devices are generally desirable for portability. Touch sensitive displays, also known as touch screen displays, are particularly useful in handheld devices that are small and have limited space for user input and output. The information displayed on the touch sensitive display can be modified according to the function and operation to be performed. Due to the continued demand for reduced size of portable electronic devices, touch sensitive displays continue to decrease in size.

Improvements in devices with touch sensitive displays are desirable.

The method of the present invention includes displaying information associated with a first application on a touch sensitive display of an electronic device. A gesture indicating a request to display information associated with the second application is detected in the touch sensitive display. At least a portion of the information associated with the second application is displayed without opening the second application.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device such as a portable electronic device according to the present invention.
2 is a front view of a portable electronic device according to the present invention.
FIGS. 3 to 11 illustrate examples of demonstrating information in a portable electronic device according to the present invention.
12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling display of information for two applications in accordance with the present invention.
13 to 21 are diagrams illustrating an example of demonstrating information in a portable electronic device according to the present invention.

An apparatus and method for controlling the display of information for two applications will now be described. A detected gesture during display of the information associated with the first application requires display of information associated with the second application. The information associated with the second application may be previewed without opening or launching the second application. Optionally, the application can be opened. A single continuous gesture not only controls the amount of second application information being displayed, but can also optionally open the second application.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Many details are set forth to provide an understanding of the examples described herein. The examples may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the examples described herein. This description is not intended to limit the scope of the examples described herein.

The present invention relates generally to electronic devices such as portable electronic devices or non-portable electronic devices. Examples of portable electronic devices include mobile or handheld wireless communication devices such as pagers, cellular phones, cellular smart phones, wireless organizers, personal digital assistants, wirelessly operated notebook computers, tablet computers, mobile internet devices, electronic navigation devices, . A portable electronic device may be a portable electronic device without wireless communication capabilities such as a handheld electronic game, a digital photo album, a digital camera, a media player, an e-book reader, and the like. Examples of non-portable electronic devices include desktop computers, electronic whiteboards, smart boards used for collaborative work, furniture or built-in monitors or displays of various appliances.

A block diagram of one example of a portable electronic device 100 is shown in FIG. The portable electronic device 100 includes a plurality of components, such as the processor 102, that controls the overall operation of the portable electronic device 100. Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through the communications subsystem 104. The data received by the portable electronic device 100 is decompressed and decoded by the decoder 106. The communication subsystem 104 receives the message from the wireless network 150 and sends the message to the wireless network 150. Wireless network 150 may be any type of wireless network including, but not limited to, a data wireless network, a voice wireless network, and a network that supports both voice and data communications. A power source 142, which may be a port for one or more rechargeable batteries or an external power source, powers the portable electronic device 100.

The processor 102 includes a random access memory (RAM) 108, a memory 110, a touch sensitive display 118 and a touch sensitive overlay 114 coupled to a display 112 ), One or more actuators 120, one or more force sensors 122, an auxiliary input / output (I / O) subsystem 124, a data port 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 130, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 132 < / RTI > The input via the graphical user interface is provided via the touch sensitive overlay 114. The processor 102 interacts with the touch sensitive overlay 114 via the electronic controller 116. Information such as text, characters, symbols, images, icons, and other items that can be displayed and rendered in the portable electronic device are displayed on the touch sensitive display 118 through the processor 102. The processor 102 may interact with an accelerometer 136 that is used to detect the direction of gravity or gravity induced reaction forces.

The portable electronic device 100 may use a subscriber identity module or a separate user identification module (SIM / RUIM) card 138 to communicate with a network, such as the wireless network 150 . Alternatively, the user identity information may be programmed into the memory 110.

The portable electronic device 100 includes an operating system 146 and a software program, application, or components 148 that are executed by the processor 102 and typically stored in persistent, updatable storage such as memory 110. [ Additional applications or programs may be transferred to the portable electronic device via the wireless network 150, the auxiliary I / O subsystem 124, the data port 126, the short-range communication subsystem 132, or any other suitable subsystem 134. [ May be loaded into the device 100.

Received signals, such as text messages, e-mail messages, or Web page downloads, are processed by the communications subsystem 104 and input to the processor 102. Processor 102 processes the received signal for output to display 112 and / or auxiliary I / O subsystem 124. A subscriber may generate a data item, e. G., An e-mail message, that is transmitted to the wireless network 150 via the communication subsystem 104. In the case of voice communication, the overall operation of the portable electronic device 100 is similar. The speaker 128 outputs the audible information converted from the electrical signal, and the microphone 130 converts the audible information into an electrical signal for processing.

The touch sensitive display 118 may be any suitable touch such as capacitive, resistive, infrared, SAW touch sensitive display, strain gauge, optical imaging, dissipative signal technology, acoustic pulse recognition, Sensitive display. The capacitive touch sensitive display includes a capacitive touch sensitive overlay 114. The overlay 114 may be, for example, an assembly of multiple layers of a stack including a substrate, a ground shielding layer, a barrier layer, one or more capacitive touch sensor layers separated by a substrate or other barrier, and a cover. The capacitive touch sensor layers may comprise any suitable material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO).

One or more touches, also referred to as touch contacts or touch events, may be detected by the touch sensitive display 118. Processor 102 may determine the attributes of the touch including the location of the touch. The touch location data may include data for the contact area or data for a single point of contact, e.g., a center point or a point near the center of the contact area. The position of the detected touch may include an x component and a y component, for example, a horizontal component and a vertical component, respectively, with respect to the viewpoint of the touch sensitive display 118. For example, the x position component may be determined by a signal generated from one touch sensor, and the y position component may be determined by a signal generated from another touch sensor. The signal is provided to the controller 116 in response to detection of the touch. The touch may be detected from any suitable input member, such as a finger, thumb, appendage, or other object, such as a stylus, pen, or other pointer, depending on the attributes of the touch sensitive display 118. A plurality of simultaneous touches can be detected.

The actuator 120 may be pressed or actuated by applying sufficient force to the touch sensitive display 118 to overcome the actuating force of the actuator 120. [ The actuator 120 can be operated by pressing any point on the touch sensitive display 118. Actuator 120 may provide an input to processor 102 when activated. Operation of the actuator 120 may provide tactile feedback. When the force is applied, the touch sensitive display 118 may be pressed, rotated and / or moved. The actuator 120 can be operated by such a force. The touch sensitive display 118 may float, for example, with the housing of the portable electronic device. That is, the touch sensitive display 118 may not be fixed to the housing. Mechanical dome switch actuators can be used. In this example, the tactile feedback is provided when the dome falls due to applied force and when the dome returns to its rest position after release of the switch. Alternatively, the actuator 120 may include one or more piezoelectric elements that provide tactile feedback to the touch sensitive display 118.

The optional force sensor 122 may be positioned with the touch sensitive display 118 to determine or respond to the force applied to the touch sensitive display 118. The force sensor 122 may be disposed in alignment with the piezoelectric actuator 120. The force sensor 122 may be a force sensitive resistor, a strain gauge, a piezoelectric or piezoresistive element, a pressure sensor, a quantum tunneling composite, a force sensitive switch, or other suitable element. The term " force " as used throughout this specification, including the claims, refers to other effects, including pressure, strain, stress, strain, force density, force-area relationship, thrust, torque, Quot; refers to the same force measurement, estimate and / or calculation. Optionally, force information associated with the detected touch can be used to select information such as information related to the location of the touch. For example, a touch that does not meet the force threshold may highlight a selection option, and a touch that meets a force threshold may select or enter the selection option. Selection options include, for example, a displayed key or virtual key on the keyboard; Select box or window, e.g. "cancel", "delete", or "unlock"; Function buttons such as playback or stop of the music player, and the like. Different sizes of force may be associated with different functions or inputs. For example, lower forces can cause panning, and higher forces can cause zooming.

A front view of the portable electronic device is shown in Fig. The touch sensitive display 118 includes a display area 202 where information is displayed and a non-display area 204 extending in the periphery of the display area. The display area 202 generally corresponds to an area of the display 112. Display region 204 is not displayed by the display 112 and the non-display region 204 can be, for example, an electronic trace or electrical connection, an adhesive or other sealant, and / Is used to accommodate a protective coating. The non-display area 204 may be referred to as an inactive area. Display area 204 is typically not part of the physical housing or frame 206 of the electronic device. Typically, the non-display area 204 has no pixels of the display 112, and thus the image can not be displayed by the display 112 in the non-display area 204. [ Alternatively, a secondary display that is not part of the primary display 112 may be disposed below the non-display area 204. A touch sensor may be disposed in the non-display area 204, which may extend from a touch sensor within the display area or from a touch sensor separate from the touch sensor within the display area 202. [ The touch including the gesture can be associated with the display area 202, the non-display area 204, or both. The touch sensor may extend substantially over the entire non-display area 204, or may be disposed only on a part of the non-display area 204. [ The touch may be continued, for example, starting from the non-display area 204 to the display area 202, starting from the display area 202, depending on whether the touch sensor is disposed in the non-display area 204, Can be continuously detected up to the area 204. The portable electronic device 100 optionally includes a convenience key or button 208, 1308, which may be a separate physical key or button or virtual key or button.

The order of the responses to the various gesture patterns is shown in Figs. Demonstration of the second application information with options to open the second application will be described. The electronic device 100 is in portrait orientation in this example, but this example also applies to landscape orientation. In this example, the weather application is displayed when a notification occurs. The notification may indicate an incoming message such as, for example, an email or text message, an unreceived telephone call, a meeting notification, a social networking message, and the like. The notification can be audible and / or visual. The visual notification can be provided by a separate physical element, for example a flashing light emitting diode, or a displayed notification, such as a visual notifier 302, which appears as a blinking object in a touch sensitive display. The notification may be provided for a predetermined period of time or until the action ends the notification. The notification may optionally enable monitoring of the gesture indicating a request to display information associated with the second application for which information is not currently displayed. For example, monitoring may target detection of a touch at a particular location on the display, such as at or near the edge or side of the display area 202.

In this example, during display of information associated with a first application that is a weather application, a gesture is detected. The gesture in this example has a swipe that continues from the origin associated with the bottom edge of the display area 202, e.g., starting from the non-display area 204 to the display area 202, as shown in FIG. Throughout the drawing, the current position of the gesture is shown in dotted circles, and the path of the gesture is shown in dotted lines with arrows indicating the most recent direction (if any) of the gesture. Here, the information associated with the first application is referred to as first application information, and the information associated with the second application is referred to as second application information. In this example, the gesture path 402 is indicated by the dotted line and the arrow. The gesture need not be provided in response to the notification, and can be detected at any time.

The first application information 404 may be in a partially or wholly transparent manner (e.g., see FIGS. 4-9, 14-17, 19, and 20) (E.g., see FIGS. 7, 8, 10 and 20) in such a manner that the first application information is covered or replaced with the second application information in a progressively transparent manner, 11, 15-17, 19, and 20), in different visual representations, or any combination thereof, in a manner that is either shifted or scrolled by the user (e. G. A gradual change in the display may occur selectively in response to the movement of the gesture or display of the second application information. For example, FIGS. 4 and 5 show that the size of the first application information is further reduced when the gesture path 402 is further extended to the display area 202. [0064]

Optionally, additional information may be displayed along with the first application information 404 when the first application information 404 is displayed in reduced size. For example, battery level, time, date, signal strength, and one or more message notifications 502 may be displayed as shown in FIG. The user can be satisfied with the displayed additional information, stop the gesture, and thereby return the display to displaying the first application information.

As the gestures continue in an exemplary order, the gesture path 402 changes direction in FIG. 6, and this direction change triggers the start of display of the second application information 602. In this exemplary sequence, the second application information 602 shifts or scrolls from the right side or edge of the display 118 toward the touch sensitive display 118 in relation to the orientation of the drawing. Thus, the second application information 602 shifts or scrolls toward the display 118 from the side or edge of the display 118 that is different from the edge associated with the gesture, e.g., where the gesture was initiated.

Optionally, the second application information 602 is progressively shifted or scrolled inward or outward with the movement of the gesture along with the display 118. As the gesture path 402 moves to the left, as the embodiment proceeds from FIG. 6 to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, more second application information 602 is progressively displayed. This shifting or scrolling provides the user with the ability to view the second piece of information 602 until he or she sees enough information to determine whether to open the second application. The second application information 602 may optionally be displayed more quickly when the gesture moves faster. More second application information 602 may be selectively displayed as the length of the gesture increases, as illustrated by the example of the progress of the gesture from FIG. 6 to FIG. 7 and FIG. Thus, the amount of information displayed may be selectively proportional to the length of the gesture's path or the length of the portion of the gesture's path. More second application information 602 may be selectively displayed when a longer gesture is maintained or detected by the touch sensitive display. Thus, the amount of information displayed may be selectively proportional to the duration or length of the gesture detection time.

The user is provided with the ability to demonstrate the second application information without opening the application and the ability to selectively open the second application if desired. Figure 9 shows some other examples of gesture characteristics that end a demonstration of second application information. For example, a user may have seen enough information through a demo, and may not want to see more information or open a second application. One gesture option to end the demonstration involves changing the gesture path 902 in the direction toward the edge or side that is associated with the beginning of the gesture, which is the bottom portion of the display area 202 in this example. Another gesture option for ending the demonstration is the gesture path 904 in the direction toward the edge or side where the second application information is to be displayed, such as the edge where the second application information shifts or scrolls into the display area 202 ). ≪ / RTI > Another gesture option to end the demonstration includes simply aborting the gesture, e.g., removing the input member from the touch sensitive display 118.

When the gesture is stopped, optionally, the first application information is displayed again on the display 118, as shown in the example of FIG. With this option, the first application information 404 may be displayed at a gradually increasing size, and may be shifted or scrolled back into the display area 202, or may be displayed at a full or normal display size It can be restored immediately.

When demonstrating the second application information 602, the user may want to open the second application, for example, to open or transmit a message. The second application may be opened when the gesture includes a property that indicates the opening of the second application. For example, the gesture path 402 may continue to open the second application from Fig. 8 along the optional paths 1002 and 1004 shown in Fig. Paths 1002 and 1004 reflect properties or attributes of gestures interpreted by device 100 as opening a second application. One option of a gesture to open the second application is to allow the gesture to be displayed on a different or different side of the display, such as the edge or side opposite the edge or side of the display on which the display of the second application information 602 enters, The path 1002 of the gesture continues in its current direction until it is associated with an edge or side. Another option of the gesture to open the second application is to allow the gesture to be displayed as if the display of the second application information 602, as shown in Fig. 10, was directed to the edge or side opposite the edge or side entering the display Path 1004 changes direction. Another option is that when the second application information covers the available display area in response to the gesture, for example, the second application information spans a vertical or horizontal range of the display area 202, The second application is automatically opened when displayed over the vertical or horizontal range of the window being displayed, or the field.

Some examples here show the option that the first application information is displayed in a reduced size. Another option in this example is to keep the first application information of reduced size in the fixed position of the display 118 when the second application information covers or replaces the first application information on the display 118. [ Alternatively, the first application information can be displayed without changing the size of the information, that is, the same size as shown in Fig. When the first application information is displayed at the same size, the first application information can be maintained in a fixed position on the display 118 when the second application information covers or replaces the first application information on the display 118, Or first application information may be shifted or scrolled out of the display 118 as second application information is shifted or scrolled on the display 118 as shown in FIG. When more second application information is displayed, less first application information can be displayed, for example, less information amount or less display area covered by that information.

A flow chart illustrating a method for controlling the display of information for two applications is shown in Fig. The method may be performed by software executed by, for example, the processor 102 of an electronic device, which may be a portable electronic device 100. The coding of the software performing such a method is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention relates. The method may include more or less processes than shown and / or described herein, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-readable code executed by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to perform this method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, such as a non-volatile computer-readable medium.

The information associated with the first application is displayed (1202) in the display, for example, on the touch sensitive display 118. The information may include information associated with any suitable application, such as e-mail, text messaging, calendar, task, address book or contact, media player or any other suitable application displayed by electronic device 100 or by electronic device 100 Lt; / RTI > The information associated with the email may include a list of email messages, and the information associated with the calendar may include a meeting schedule, a calendar daily calendar view, a weekly calendar view, a monthly calendar view, an agenda view, And the information associated with the media player may include text, pictures, images, or artwork related to music or other media. The application and information are not limited to the examples provided herein.

An associated gesture is detected 1204 by indicating a request to display information associated with the second application. The detection of the gesture triggers the display of the second application information. The gesture may be thought of as being a command associated with a second application, which command requests, controls or causes at least a portion of the second application information to be displayed.

A suitable gesture is advantageously designated to request display of information associated with the second application. Advantageously, unintentional display of information is avoided. Thus, the gesture is associated with the second application. The gesture may be associated with a particular location, such as an edge (or side) or corner of the touch sensitive display 118, or a specific indicator, such as a ghost symbol or word, or a displayed element, such as an application's header. A gesture can be a gesture that is associated with a given location such as movement, direction, direction change, shape, duration, length, force, speed, hover, number of simultaneous touch locations, number of tabs, physical key, And may have detectable properties or properties such as those used with the apparatus. The gesture may include a pushing of the touch sensitive display 118 to actuate the actuator 120 as described above. A gesture may include any combination of the above-mentioned characteristics or attributes.

Some examples of gestures are: The gesture can be associated with an edge or side of the display area 202 and extend into the display area 202 or into the display area 202. The gesture associated with the edge or side of the display area 202 may include, for example, a gesture detected by the touch sensor in the non-display area 204, a gesture starting outside the display area 202 and continuing into the display area, A gesture with a touch location (e.g., the beginning of a gesture) at or near the outer boundary of the touch screen 202, or the like. The corners of the display area 202 may be associated with either or both of the edges and sides that meet the corners. The gesture may be a hover that is maintained in association with a particular location for a predetermined time period, such as a persistent touch at a location 2002 associated with a corner of the touch sensitive display 118, Or another gesture. The input may be a composite gesture, e.g., a touch that persists at a particular location, such as a corner or side of the display while a swipe is detected. Gestures may be input directly via an input device such as, for example, a touch sensitive display, an optical joystick, etc., and may include other types of gestures such as 3D gestures or physical gestures that involve movement of the electronic device 100. [

The second application may be any suitable application as described above. The associated second application information has also been described above. For example, the second application may be a message application, and the second application information displayed is an inbox for the messaging application. The inbox may include some or all of e-mail, meeting notifications, any type of text message, unaccepted phone call notifications, social networking messages, system messages, news feed messages, download progress messages, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > box. ≪ / RTI > The second application may alternatively be a calendar, an address book, a home screen, and the like. The second application may alternatively be a device alert such as a notification application that manages various notifications including email notifications, texts, unanswered phone calls, calendars, social networking, and, in some cases, battery weakness or communication access blocking have.

The first application information and the second application information are displayed (1206). For example, when the first application information is displayed in a decreasing amount, the second application information can be displayed in an increasing amount. The displayed second application information may be, for example, a demonstration (a peek) of second application information including a subset or a portion of all available second application information. For example, when the second application is an email application, the last five emails are displayed, and when the second application is the address book, the ten most frequently accessed contacts may be displayed. The demonstration can be displayed without opening or starting the second application, in which case the demonstrated information can be retrieved from the stored information and / or from information received via the communication network 150. Demonstrating or displaying a second application without opening it is typically a faster process than opening the information.

During the demonstration, the second application information can be viewed, and the active application function does not operate except that some information is displayed. In the example of demonstrating the messaging inbox, the email message is not opened and a new email is not initiated during the demotion, but the title, sender and time information can be viewed. In the case of an example of demonstrating a calendar, an existing calendar event is not opened and a new calendar event is not started during the demonstration, but the title, meeting organizer and time information can be viewed. The second application may be selectively opened to combine the active application functions. The second application information is displayed for example for a time duration of the gesture or until the second application is opened.

While the gesture continues 1208, the second application information may be selectively displayed 1210 by shifting or scrolling the information into or out of the touch sensitive display 118. The shifting occurs selectively according to the movement of the gesture. For example, more information is displayed when the gesture moves in the forward direction, and less information can be displayed when the gesture moves in the reverse direction. The forward direction is, for example, the direction in which information is taken when information is going on display 118 and the reverse direction is the direction opposite to the forward direction. The shifting or scrolling of the second application information may continue until the gesture continues or until the second application is open 1214 in response to detecting 1212 that the second application has opened an indication. The first application information may selectively shift or scroll out of the display 118 as the second application information scrolls into the display 118. [ Similarly, the first application information may selectively shift or scroll into the display 118 as the second application information scrolls out of the display 118. Thus, the method of the present invention provides an easily executed option to open a second application, but provides a demonstration of the second application information without opening the second application.

The order of the responses to various aspects of the gesture is shown in Figs. Demonstration of the second application information with options to open the second application will be described. The description of the features and aspects described above will not be repeated for brevity. The electronic device 100 is in the landscape view mode in this example, but these examples also apply to the portrait view mode. The portable electronic device 100 of Figs. 13-21 has a different form factor than the form factor of the portable electronic device 100 of Figs. 2-11. The method described here can be applied to any form factor.

The first application in this example is the same weather application as the above example, but the information is displayed in landscape view mode as shown in Fig. As described above, the notification may optionally be provided, such as the virtual notifier 302. [ A gesture indicating a request to display information associated with the second application is detected. The gesture in this example is a starting point associated with the right edge or side of the display area 202, e.g., a path starting from the non-display area 204 and continuing into the display area 202 toward the left as shown in Fig. 1402, respectively. The gesture need not be provided in response to the notification and can be detected at any time.

As shown in FIG. 15, the second application information 1502 shifts or scrolls into the display 118 starting at the right side or edge of the display 118 when a gesture that may include some delay is detected. In this example, the second application information 1502 scrolls or shifts into the display 118 from the same edge or side associated with the gesture.

The second application information 1502 may be shifted inward or outward with respect to the movement of the gesture or with the movement of the gesture, as shown by the progression of the gesture path 1402 from Figure 15 to Figure 16 and Figure 17, Or scrolls. For example, when the gesture moves to the left, the information moves proportionally to the left; When the gesture moves to the right, the information moves proportionally to the right. Similarly, when the gesture moves upward or downward, the information moves proportionally upward or downward, respectively, as shown in the example of Fig. As described above, when the second application information shifts or scrolls inside the display 118, the first application information can shrink or shift or scroll outside the display 118.

Demonstration or display of the second application information 1502 may be terminated as described above, for example, when the gesture is stopped, when the second application information 1502 is scrolled or shifted out of the display 118, and so on. Demonstration ends when the second application opens or starts. As before, when demonstrating the second application information 1502, the user may wish to open a second application, for example, to open or transmit a message. The second application may be opened when the gesture includes a property that indicates the opening of the second application. For example, the gesture path 1402 may continue along the optional path 1802, 1804 shown in Fig. 18 to open the second application. Paths 1802 and 1804 reflect examples of properties or attributes of gestures that are interpreted by device 100 as opening a second application. One option of the gesture to open the second application is that the path 1802 of the gesture is such that the display of the second application information 1502, as shown in FIG. 18, is the same as the edge or side , Continues in the current direction until it is associated with another edge or side of the display. Another option of the gesture to open the second application is that the path 1804 of the gesture is such that the display of the second application information 602, as shown in Figure 18, As shown in FIG. Another option is that when the second application information covers the available display area in response to the gesture, for example, the second application information spans a vertical or horizontal range of the display area 202, The second application is automatically opened when displayed over the vertical or horizontal range of the window being displayed, or the field.

The second application information may scroll or shift into the display 118 from another edge or side, such as the bottom of the display area 202, as shown in Fig. In this example, a gesture is associated with the same edge as where scrolling or shifting begins, although the gesture may start at any edge or side or corner.

A gesture type other than moving the gesture to demonstrate the second application information may be used. As shown in the example of FIGS. 20 and 21, the gesture including the stopped touch or hover at the position 2002 associated with one of the corners of the display area 202 initiates the demonstration and continues as described above. As the gesture is held longer or a longer gesture is detected by the touch sensitive display 118 at that location 2002, more second application information 1904 may be selectively displayed. In the example of FIG. 20, the first application information is displayed at the same size, and when the second application information covers or replaces the first application information at the display 118, the first application information is maintained at a fixed location on the display . Demonstrations can be terminated, for example, when a gesture is detected or moved to a substantially different location. The second application may be opened when detected, for example, at location 2102 associated with another corner, as shown in FIG.

When the demonstration is over, the display of the second application information may be selectively shifted or scrolled outwardly of the display 118 with the movement of the gesture or during a predetermined period of time. The second application information may continue in the direction in which the information was displayed or outside the opposite edge of the display area 202 where the display was started. Optionally, the display of the second application information may end immediately or gradually disappear from the display.

In the above example, the gesture is a continuous gesture while displaying at least a portion of the second application information without opening the second application. Although other discontinuous gestures may be used, successive gestures may change more quickly as well as a smoother display of information and facilitate the end of display of the second application information. The ability to demonstrate as many second application information as desired without opening the second application with the option of prompting the user to quickly and easily open the second application information at any time with the same gesture used to demonstrate the second application information / RTI > The method described here is a natural and effective way to demonstrate information with the option of opening an application. Because the demonstration is typically faster than opening the second application, it not only saves battery but also provides a more efficient interface to the user since the user can obtain the information without having to open the second application.

Although in the above example the second application is opened by succession of gestures, other input may be used as the second application, such as a second gesture that overlaps temporally with the first gesture indicating demonstration, menu selection, Can be used to open.

In this example, the second application information is displayed starting from the right or bottom edge or side of the touch sensitive display 118, which has the advantage of displaying information in a left to right manner or chronologically, respectively. Nevertheless, the display of the second application information may start from any edge or side of the display 118.

The examples illustrate displaying the first application and demonstrating the second application information without opening the second application, with the option of opening the second application in response to detecting a gesture or gesture characteristic. Alternatively, different gestures, i.e. gestures associated with different edges or sides or corners, can demonstrate a plurality of different applications. For example, a gesture associated with a right edge demonstrates a messaging inbox, a gesture associated with a left edge demonstrates a calendar, a gesture associated with a lower edge demonstrates an address book, and a gesture associated with a top edge demonstrates a user- do. The user may be provided with the option of specifying the application by the desired edge or side or corner.

Although the method of the present invention is advantageous in portable electronic devices due to the limited display size of portable electronic devices such as smart phones, the method of the present invention is also applicable to other electronic devices with larger display sizes.

Although the above examples illustrate various other features, the features of any given example may be used with any other example as long as the features do not conflict. For example, the features of FIGS. 2-11 may be used in the landscape view mode, and the features of FIGS. 13-21 may be used in the portrait view mode. Other features are interchangeable, but too simple to identify.

Shifting or scrolling information into the display area generally involves incrementally moving or incrementally adding information to the display area. Shifting or scrolling information out of the display area generally involves moving the information from the display area progressively or gradually. Shifting or scrolling the second application information to the display may include shifting or scrolling the first application information out of the display, or covering or scrolling the first application information such that the first application information appears below the second application information Lt; / RTI > The display of information associated with the first application may be reduced as the display of information associated with the second application increases. The information associated with the second application may shift from the first edge of the touch sensitive display into the touch sensitive display while the information associated with the first application shifts out of the second edge of the touch sensitive display, 1 on the opposite side of the edge. Icons or information other than the first application information may also scroll or shift inward or outward of the display when the first application information or the second application information scrolls in and out of the display and changes the size or the like.

The second application information to be demonstrated can be adjusted by the user. For example, the user can identify the amount of information being demonstrated, e.g., the latest 10 unread emails, the five most recently accessed contacts, and so on.

The terms left, right, top, bottom, etc. are used herein for purposes of providing a view of the references, but are not limiting in any other way.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims (30)

A method for displaying information in response to a gesture, performed by an electronic device having a touch sensitive display,
Displaying information associated with a first application on the touch sensitive display in a window;
Detecting a gesture on the touch sensitive display while only information associated with the first application is displayed in the window, wherein the gesture is a dedicated request to display messaging information; ;
In response to detecting the gesture, dividing the window into a first area and a second area, and while reducing the display of information associated with the first application in the second area, The method comprising the steps of:
Changing the size of the first area according to movement of the gesture while the gesture is continuously detected;
Responsive to detecting a direction change of the gesture, stopping displaying the information associated with the first application, and opening a messaging application associated with the messaging information. Lt; / RTI > 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the messaging information is previewed until the gesture ends or the messaging application is opened. delete The method of claim 1, wherein opening the messaging application comprises engaging an active inbox function. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein progressively displaying the messaging information includes demonstrating the messaging information by displaying messaging information while the active inbox function is not operable. / RTI > The method of claim 1 further comprising stopping displaying the messaging information in response to detecting the characteristics of the gesture before displaying the messaging information across the available display area of the touch sensitive display A method for displaying information in response to a gesture. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first region is incremented in size or reduced in size according to movement of the gesture. delete delete 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the gesture is activated when a notification is activated. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the gesture is associated with a first edge of the touch sensitive display, the messaging information is shifted from a second edge of the touch sensitive display onto the touch sensitive display, Is different from said second edge. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 13 > 2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the gesture is associated with a first edge of the touch sensitive display and the messaging information is shifted from the first edge onto the touch sensitive display. / RTI > 2. The method of claim 1, wherein while the information associated with the first application is shifted out of the second edge of the touch sensitive display, the messaging information is shifted from the first edge of the touch sensitive display onto the touch sensitive display, And wherein the second edge is opposite the first edge. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging information is a box that is universal. A method for displaying information in response to a gesture, performed by an electronic device having a touch sensitive display,
Displaying information associated with the first application on the touch sensitive display by displaying information associated with the first application in a first area of the touch sensitive display;
Detecting a gesture on the touch sensitive display, the gesture indicating a request to preview messaging information; detecting the gesture;
In response to detecting the gesture,
Demonstrating the messaging information by shifting one side of the messaging information into the first area while reducing the display of information associated with the first application of the first area as the display area of the messaging information increases; Shifting and shrinking occur according to the movement of the gesture; demonstrating the messaging information;
Stopping the display of information associated with the first application and opening a messaging application associated with the messaging information in response to detecting a change in direction of the gesture,
Wherein the direction change of the gesture includes an association of the gesture with the second side of the display adjacent to the first side from which the gesture was initiated. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein at least some of the messaging information is demonstrated until the gesture ends or the messaging application is opened. delete 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising gradually shifting the information associated with the first application out of the touch sensitive display to incrementally increase the display area of the messaging information. Way. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the display area of the messaging information gradually increases in size or shrinks in accordance with movement of the gesture. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the messaging information is displayed by shifting one side of the messaging information throughout the touch sensitive display. A method for displaying information in response to a gesture, performed by an electronic device having a touch sensitive display,
Detecting a gesture requesting messaging information to be displayed in the window while displaying first application information across a window displayed on the electronic device;
Dividing the window into a first area and a second area in response to detecting the gesture and displaying the messaging information in the first area while displaying the first application information in the second area;
Changing the size of the first area according to movement of the gesture while the gesture is continuously detected;
Responsive to detecting a change in direction of the gesture, stopping the display of the first application information and opening a messaging application associated with the messaging information, a method for displaying information in response to a gesture . 22. The method of claim 21, wherein at least some of the messaging information is previewed until the gesture ends or the messaging application is opened. delete 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising gradually shifting the information associated with the first application out of the touch sensitive display to incrementally increase the display area of the messaging information. Way. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the display area of the messaging information gradually increases in size or shrinks in accordance with movement of the gesture. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the messaging information is displayed by shifting one side of the messaging information across the touch sensitive display. A method for displaying information in response to a gesture, performed by an electronic device having a touch sensitive display,
Displaying information associated with the first application in a window of the touch sensitive display, wherein the window only displays information associated with the first application; displaying information associated with the first application; ;
Detecting a gesture on the touch sensitive display, the gesture being a dedicated request to preview an inbox; detecting the gesture;
In response to detecting the gesture,
Shifting information associated with the first application from a first side of the window and displaying the inbox from a second side of the window to a second side of the window opposite the first side of the window, Demonstrating the inbox, the shifting being controlled by the movement of the gesture to control the size of the window area in which the inbox is displayed;
Detecting from the gesture an indication to open the inbox, and in response to detecting the indication, displaying the inbox in the window and ceasing display of information associated with the first application, And wherein the third side of the window is adjacent to the first side and the second side of the window. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > - < / RTI >; And
Stopping the display of the inbox and displaying information associated with the first application in the window if the gesture's characteristic indicates that the display of the inbox is to end, The gesture including a motion of the gesture toward the gesture. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the shifting comprises displaying information associated with the first application in a reduced size. 28. The method of claim 27, responsive to detecting the gesture, wherein one or more message notifications are displayed with information associated with the first application. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the size of the window area in which the inbox is displayed is progressively increased in size or reduced in size in accordance with movement of the gesture.

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